50 Fun Facts About Australian Open

In which city is the Australian Open played?

The Australian Open has been played in Melbourne every year since 1972; it moved within the city to Flinders Park, later renamed Melbourne Park, in 1988.

Where does the Australian Open fall in the calendar of the four Grand Slams?

The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the year, starting in mid-January, ahead of the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.

On what surface has the Australian Open been played since its 1988 move to Flinders Park?

Since the 1988 move to Flinders Park the Australian Open has been played on hard court, a cushioned acrylic surface whose brand has changed several times.

Which surface did the Australian Open use before 1988?

Grass was the surface until 1987, when Stefan Edberg beat Pat Cash in the last final played on it before the 1988 switch.

What nickname is the Australian Open known by?

The Happy Slam is the nickname players gave the Australian Open for its relaxed midsummer atmosphere; the 2025 tournament drew more than 1.2 million spectators.

Under what name was the tournament first held in 1905?

The tournament began in 1905 as the Australasian Championships, when Rodney Heath won the first men's title, and was renamed the Australian Championships in 1927.

Which country outside Australia has hosted the tournament?

New Zealand hosted twice in the tournament's early decades: Christchurch in 1906 and Hastings in 1912.

Which venue hosted the tournament from 1972 until the move to Flinders Park in 1988?

Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club hosted every edition from 1972 to 1987; attendance nearly doubled in the first year at the new Flinders Park site.

Roughly how long was the 1920s sea voyage that deterred European players from the tournament?

The voyage from Europe took about 45 days by ship in the 1920s, so few top overseas players entered; the first to fly in were the US Davis Cup team in 1946.

Why was there no Australian Open at all in 1986?

The dates moved from December to January: the 1985 edition ended in December and the next began in January 1987, so no tournament fell in 1986.

In which year did the Australian Championships first admit professionals and become the Australian Open?

1969 was the first Australian Open, held on the Milton Courts in Brisbane and won by Rod Laver on his way to the calendar Grand Slam.

Which man won a record tenth Australian Open singles title in 2023?

Novak Djokovic won his tenth Australian Open in 2023, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final; he had won all ten finals he had played there.

Which Australian holds the record of eleven women's singles titles?

Margaret Court won eleven Australian singles titles between 1960 and 1973, seven of them in a row from 1960 to 1966.

Which Australian won a record five consecutive men's titles from 1963 to 1967?

Roy Emerson, nicknamed 'Emmo', won six Australian titles including five straight from 1963 to 1967; his record of six stood until 2019.

Which Swede is the only player to have won the tournament on both grass and hard courts?

Mats Wilander won on the old lawn surface in 1983 and 1984 and on the new Rebound Ace surface in 1988, a double no other champion has managed.

Which two players won the Australian Open on both Rebound Ace and Plexicushion?

Roger Federer and Serena Williams each won on green Rebound Ace (Federer 2004, 2006, 2007; Williams 2003, 2005, 2007) and again on blue Plexicushion after the 2008 switch.

Which is the main show court at the tournament?

Rod Laver Arena, the main show court, opened in 1988 as Centre Court at the National Tennis Centre and took its present name in January 2000.

Roughly how many spectators does the main show court seat for tennis?

The main show court seats about 14,800 for tennis and was the first Grand Slam stadium with a retractable roof, so play continues in rain or extreme heat.

Which Melbourne Park arena opened in 1988 with a numbered name and was renamed in 2003?

Margaret Court Arena opened in 1988 as Show Court One, was renamed in 2003 and gained a retractable roof and 7,500 seats in a rebuild finished in 2015.

John Cain Arena opened in 2000 under which sponsor's name?

The arena opened in 2000 as Vodafone Arena and became Hisense Arena in 2008 before being renamed in 2020 for former Victorian premier John Cain.

By 2015, how many of the tournament's main arenas had retractable roofs?

Three of its main arenas have retractable roofs, a Grand Slam first achieved in 2015 when the rebuilt second show court joined the two already covered.

What is the fourth major show court, unveiled in November 2021, called?

Kia Arena, a 5,000-seat stadium unveiled in November 2021 as the fourth major show court, was the centrepiece of a A$271 million redevelopment.

Which court surface brand has been used since 2020?

GreenSet replaced Plexicushion in 2020 as the court supplier; the surface kept the blue cushioned-acrylic look the tournament had used since 2008.

What is the men's singles trophy called?

The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup honours the 1911 champion who in 1907 became the first man from outside Britain to win Wimbledon.

The women's singles trophy is named after which five-time champion of the 1920s?

Daphne Akhurst won the singles in 1925, 1926, 1928, 1929 and 1930 and died in 1933 aged 29; the women's singles trophy is the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.

In 2021 the Australian Open became the first Grand Slam to do what at every match?

The 2021 tournament was the first major to use electronic line judging only, with no line umpires on any court, partly to cut on-site staff during the pandemic.

How does the Australian Open settle a deciding set that reaches six games all?

A first-to-10 tiebreak, played at six games all in the deciding set, was adopted in 2019; by 2022 all four majors used the same format.

Since 2024 the tournament has started on which day of the week?

The tournament has opened on a Sunday since 2024, adding a fifteenth day; day sessions were also cut to two matches to stop play dragging into the early hours.

In what year was the tournament's Extreme Heat Policy first introduced?

The Extreme Heat Policy was introduced in 1998, the first at a Grand Slam; a revision in 2019 added a 1-to-5 heat stress scale with separate thresholds for juniors and wheelchair players.

Which brand became the tournament's official ball supplier in 2019, replacing Wilson?

Dunlop took over from Wilson as the official ball of the Australian Open in 2019 under a five-year agreement with Tennis Australia.

Which network became the tournament's Australian host broadcaster from 2019 after Seven's 45-year run?

Nine became host broadcaster from 2019; the rights are prized because the tournament falls in January, just before the commercial ratings season begins.

Australian Mark Edmondson won the 1976 title ranked where in the world?

Mark Edmondson was ranked 212th when he won in 1976 aged 21, the lowest ranking of any major champion in the half-century that followed.

Which Australian won the 2002 Wimbledon men's title but never his home Grand Slam?

Lleyton Hewitt won the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002 but never the Australian Open, losing his only home final in 2005.

Which Australian won the 2022 women's title on home soil and retired weeks later at 25?

Ashleigh Barty won the 2022 title without dropping a set, completing majors on every surface after the 2019 French Open and 2021 Wimbledon, then retired that March.

Whom did Mark Edmondson beat in the storm-hit 1976 final?

John Newcombe, the defending champion, lost the 1976 final to Mark Edmondson in four sets as a windstorm swept the court.

Ken Rosewall became the oldest Open Era men's major champion when he won the 1972 title aged what?

Ken Rosewall was 37 when he won in 1972, 19 years after he had taken the same title as an 18-year-old in 1953.

How long did the 2012 men's final between Djokovic and Nadal last?

The 2012 final ran 5 hours 53 minutes, the longest Grand Slam final by duration at the time, and both men needed chairs during the trophy speeches.

Which Italian won his first major in 2024, beating Djokovic and then Medvedev from two sets down?

Jannik Sinner came from two sets down in the 2024 final, defended the title in 2025 and in June 2024 became the first Italian world number one.

Whom did Rafael Nadal beat from two sets down in the 2022 final to win a then-record 21st major?

Daniil Medvedev led by two sets before Rafael Nadal won in five; it was Nadal's second Australian title, 13 years after his first in 2009.

Roger Federer became the first man to reach 20 major titles at which Australian Open?

At the 2018 Australian Open Federer beat Marin Čilić in five sets for his 20th major, and weeks later became the oldest world number one at 36.

Serena Williams won her 23rd major singles title at the 2017 Australian Open while what?

Serena Williams was about eight weeks pregnant when she beat her sister Venus in the 2017 final without dropping a set all fortnight.

Which Belgian won the 2011 women's singles title?

Kim Clijsters won the 2011 final after dropping the first set and said the title meant fans could 'finally call me Aussie Kim'; the nickname dated from her engagement to an Australian player.

Which Chinese player won the 2014 women's title after losing two earlier finals there?

Li Na won the 2014 title after losing the 2011 and 2013 finals, retired that September as reigning champion, and in 2019 became the Hall of Fame's first Asian player.

Which Swede won the 2002 title having never previously passed a Grand Slam quarter-final?

Thomas Johansson won the 2002 final in four sets for his only major, the first by a Swedish man since 1992.

Which Russian beat the home favourite in the 2005 final for his second and last major?

Marat Safin won the 2005 final in four sets, his second and last major, after knocking out the world number one in a five-set semi-final that ended past midnight.

Which Czech won the 1998 men's title but tested positive for nandrolone at Wimbledon later that year?

Petr Korda celebrated his title with his trademark scissor kick; his daughter Nelly became a major-winning golfer and his son Sebastian a tour-level tennis player.

Which American won the 2001 and 2002 women's titles as part of a career comeback?

Jennifer Capriati, a teen prodigy in 1990 who had dropped off the tour, came back to win the 2001 and 2002 Australian titles and the 2001 French Open within 13 months.

Which German won the 2016 women's title, her first major, beating Serena Williams in the final?

Angelique Kerber won the 2016 final 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, added the US Open that September and finished 2016 as world number one.

Which Belarusian became her country's first Grand Slam singles champion by winning the 2012 final?

Victoria Azarenka beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in the 2012 final, Belarus's first Grand Slam singles title, and rose to world number one the same day.

Which Australian wheelchair player won a 2021 quad singles Golden Slam and was 2022 Australian of the Year?

Dylan Alcott completed the 2021 quad singles Golden Slam (all four majors plus Paralympic gold) and was named Australian of the Year in January 2022.